Home»
PLANT FOR PRODUCTION OF 2,500 LITRES OF ETHANOL PER DAY FROM CASSAVA TUBERS

PLANT FOR PRODUCTION OF 2,500 LITRES OF ETHANOL PER DAY FROM CASSAVA TUBERS

ETHANOL

Ethanol is produced from starchy food crops such as cassava, corn and high sugar content plants like sugarcane and sugar beet.

Recent discussions on ethanol center on global warming. Fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide which contributes over 50 percent of the Greenhouse effect. Ethanol is safe, renewable and sustainable and does not emit carbon dioxide. The use of 10 percent ethanol blend reduces greenhouse gas emission by 18-29 percent over conventional fuels.

Ethanol has other applications that are equally useful to economic development. We consume over 20 million litres of natural ethanol annually as active and inactive ingredients across various industries. If we can use cassava to produce ethanol as is done in other places, we would lay the foundation for the growth of numerous cottage and small scale industries in our country.

TYPES OF ETHANOL

There are two types of ethanol: (1) Denatured ethanol and (2) Hydrous ethanol

Denatured Ethanol: It is the one used in blending Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to E10, E20 etc. It is usually mixed with 2-5 low cost hydrocarbon that makes it unfit for human consumption.

Hydrous Ethanol: It is the natural ethanol used as industrial raw material in the production of alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, perfumes, drinks, medicaments and other industrial uses. We consume up to 20 million litres of the product annually and presently, there is nobody producing it despite the abundance of the raw material (cassava) in the country. The production is viable because it is resource-based: the raw material, the technology and the equipment are all locally available.

PRODUCTION OF NATURAL ETHANOL FROM CASSAVA

Production of natural ethanol of about 96 percent pure alcohol from cassava is an intensive and rigorous operation.

The equipment must be made of stainless steel and the distillation system, which is the heart of the operation, must be in tandem with precision engineering. Operators should be trained to handle the machines with matured instincts and dexterity to produce products of excellent quality. Raw materials must be of acceptable grades to ensure perfect quality. Production environment should discourage the presence of incandescent objects and materials because ethanol is an inflammable product. Packaging must comply with industrial standards and should be in high density materials to avoid leakages and breakages that may result in fire outbreaks.

Ethanol is an industrial product that has extensive applications as primary and secondary products. It is used as an active ingredient in food, beverages and cosmetic industries and as inactive ingredient in the medical, perfume and numerous other industries.

Capacity of the Plant: The capacity of the plant is 2,500 litres or 50 drums of 50 litres per drum per day. The capacity can be increased if the distillation system is increased.

Raw Material Requirement:About 20 tons of cassava tubers are required per day to produce the 50 drums of ethanol.

By-Products: About 7,000 kg of spent wort will be available from the production. The dried wort is used as animal and poultry feeds. Also, about 1,800 kg of carbon dioxide and 200 litres of acetaldehyde will be available. Acetaldehyde is also used in the perfume and cosmetics industries.

Water: About 2-3 litres of good quality water is required for every litre of ethanol produced.

Ethanol is an industrial spirit that contains over 90 percent pure alcohol and can be very dangerous to health if taken raw. Production of alcoholic beverages like schnapps, Whisky, Brandy, Rum etc. has proliferated because of ethanol. It will be a very viable incentive for the take off of numerous other products and industries that use alcohol as their active and inactive ingredients.

EQUIPMENT FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ETHANOL OF 96 PERCENT ALCOHOL

The equipment are all made of stainless steel and they are very rugged, robust and resilient.

The above are the strategic equipment for the production. All the specifications have not been included because this is just an introductory document.

PRICE OF THE PLANT

The price of the equipment is N 16,850,000 (Sixteen Million Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira Only). This includes training of the workers during installation.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PURCHASE

80 percent of the price will be paid at the commissioning of the project, 10 percent after delivery and before installation and 10 percent after installation and commissioning.

Delivery Period: Delivery shall be 6 months from the payment of the 80 percent and the clearing of the cheque. The Distillation unit and the condensers are precision instruments and they are to be custom made for the plant.

Transportation: the cost to the site will be borne by the client, but since we do not know the exact location, we can not estimate the cost.

Installation: Our technicians will install and test-run the plant. The client will provide all the electrical inputs. We will do the bases of the machines and you will provide the materials. The client will take care of the accommodation, transportation, feeding etc of the technicians. Your technicians, operators, welder, electricians etc. will participate in the installation during which they will be trained. The production space should be about 400 square meters. The cost of installation will be N 600,000 and it will take 4 weeks if all the inputs are in place.

Test Run: About 20 tons of cassava will be required for the test run and it will be provided by the client.

Warranties: 6 months for any production problem excluding changeable parts affected by aging, misuse and accidents.

Technical Support: supply of spare parts at short notice, maintenance, quality control to ensure standard and consultancy services when needed.